Ambassadors for Christ

Although I had lived in many countries, I had never thought of myself as an ambassador. Then one morning recently, during my daily study of the Scriptures, I looked more closely at the Apostle Paul's rallying call in his second letter to the Corinthians: "We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (5:20, New Revised Standard Version).

I had read that passage many times, in several Bible translations. Yet I'd never felt called to action as I was that morning. It became clear to me that all who follow the teachings of Jesus are required to be "ambassadors for Christ," with a firm commitment to proclaim and establish the unity of God and man.

As special ambassadors, they are spared the formality of confirmation hearings and other forms of media scrutiny, but are required to prove their worthiness for the task. Because God is making His appeal for reconciliation through them, they are expected to demonstrate how unity with Him brings healing and regeneration in their own lives. They should be so filled with enthusiasm and gratitude for the blessings they have received that they cannot wait to tell others about them.

Every day brings opportunities to share the joys and benefits of Christianity as Jesus practiced it; to explain to hungry hearts that Christianity is a universal religion that values everyone and meets every kind of human need. It urges people to be reconciled to their perfect identity as the spiritual likeness of God.

This message is at the heart of the Science of Christianity, which was discovered in 1866 by a great ambassador for Christ, Mary Baker Eddy. She explained this Science in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which no conscientious ambassador should be without! She said here that to her the revelation of Christian Science included "the proof, by present demonstration, that the so-called miracles of Jesus did not specially belong to a dispensation now ended, but that they illustrated an ever-operative divine Principle" (p. 123).

Recently that divine Principle, God, has been at the heart of extensive media research, which has revealed that people are keenly interested in Christian healing. Many individuals crave the comfort and renewal that only a conscious oneness with an all-sustaining Father-Mother, God, can bring. And part of the job of an ambassador for Christ is to help these people to appreciate that the recognition of their real being, of their inseparable relation to God, can impart the strength, satisfaction, and direction that they seek.

In this, it's important to approach everyone with patience, accepting that it takes some people longer than others to find their spiritual perfection in Christ. Some may need to be reassured that God has the same reward for all of His children, no matter how or when they find Him. They may need to know that He is impartial in His estimate of each individual, regardless of where he or she is in life. Also, that God's omnipotence is more than adequate to help us overcome the subtle suggestions that keep us from knowing Him, such as indifference, apathy, inertia, discouragement, and lack of time. There is no dull routine, no disillusionment, involved in deepening our grasp of eternal Truth.

God's message does not change with changing political situations or with geographical location. The way we present it may change, but not its essence. Political correctness did not feature in Jesus' requirements for his followers. There was no mention of gender, age, education, economic status, or nationality. He called for new birth and reformation in simple, unequivocal terms: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). In other words, it is when we forsake the mortal (the dead) sense of existence that we become conscious of our spiritual inheritance as sons and daughters of God (see Matthew 19:29).

Ambassadors for Christ represent the kingdom of God, which is already firmly established as a haven of peace, joy, and fulfillment. When the news of that kingdom reaches all mankind, their assignment will be complete.